


The Last Children

by R_Black



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, I'd sit here and mention every character in here but then this would be a tag wall, OC-centric in the first couple chapters, but don't worry there will be recognizable characters very soon!, get ready for some WALKING, of which I am not a fan so I won't do it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 13:54:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_Black/pseuds/R_Black
Summary: Lumi the glow worm is sent to Hallownest by the Void Itself to retrieve Its 'children' and bring them back to the Sea of Void. (Post Shade Lord ending)





	1. The Kingdom Below

**Author's Note:**

> “Trust is not just a two-way path. It is four. Trusting in another must be reciprocated, yes, but you must also trust _yourself_. For if you don’t even have faith in yourself, how can you trust another?”

Lumi only half-listened to the Gleam as she spouted about trust and faith and _blah, blah, blah_. The entire class was nearly asleep by the time she had finished her speech.

“Are any of you actually listening?” she asked with a huff. “Glows!”

The stomp of her foot alerted the young glow worms, causing some to jump. One of Lumi’s friends actually fell out of their seat.

The teacher shook her head in exasperation. “Glows, you must understand this lesson eventually. You all are growing and soon must take the Trial soon. If you do not learn to trust, how do you expect to grow and become Glimmers?”

The class shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Lumi sighed. It was true, they were all growing up. They were Glows, the eldest of the glow worm children. One day, they would molt and become the youngest adults—Glimmers. But before they could even think about that, they had to go through a rite of passage all glow worms took. They had to take the Trial of Trust.

Trust was a word that was so often repeated in their city that all the children were _sick_ of it. The lessons taught about it were so redundant that by the time Glows reached molt age, they didn’t want to even hear a synonym for the word.

The Gleam sighed. “Class dismissed. It appears we’ve reached the end of this lesson.”

She’d barely gotten a word in after that, the class had gotten up so fast. Everyone erupted into their own conversations almost immediately. The Gleam had to shout to be heard above the din.

“In the next few weeks, you will all be approached for your Trial! Please prepare yourselves!”

* * *

 

                                                              

Lumi sat on the balcony of his family home, high above the ground, overlooking much of their fair city of Duskshire. The tower in which Lumi lived was just one of many that stood tall, their height unmatched. In the distance, Lumi could see the main square, with its large fountain in the center. His mind wandered as he gazed upwards towards the Void Sea.

High above the city, where the ceiling of the cave in which they lived would have been, was a huge expanse of deep black that moved like thick liquid. The adults called it the Void Sea, a large concentration of the Higher Being their kingdom worshipped: the Void. The Void was a being above simple bugs like them. It was a god, but it had no focus, barely a consciousness. Its job, Lumi and the others had been told, was an important one, which would be revealed during the Trial.

The Void Sea was the one patch of pure darkness that was not lit up by Duskshire’s lights. Lumi thought it was creepy, not godlike. He didn’t know what he would be told during the Trial of Trust to make him worship the Void so much like the adults, and he didn’t think any excuse he would be told would overshadow the overall creepiness of their beloved ‘god.’

The wingbeats of an approaching figure snapped him out of his thoughts.

“I thought you might be out here, Lumi.”

Lumi smiled as his sister—a recently-molted adult, a Glimmer—landed next to him. Her name was Illu.

“Are you excited for your upcoming Trial, little brother?” Illu asked, her tone playful.

“Not really,” he admitted.

“Not ready to grow up?”

“More like I don’t want to learn about… _that_.” He pointed up at the Sea, peacefully flowing above them.

Illu chuckled. “Ah. You’re worried the Void isn’t all It’s cracked up to be? Or maybe that It’s got some ‘evil intentions,’ yeah?”

Lumi nodded.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, patting him on the head, right between his antennae. “This is normal. You have to learn to tr—“

“If I have to hear that phrase _one more time_ ,” Lumi warned. His tone was light, and his mouth traitorously quirked up in a small smile.

Illu laughed. “I get it. I’m tired of it, too, but it’s true. Trust is an important lesson. I just wish we didn’t have to beat it into the young ones so much. Almost like we’re beating a dead Stag at this point.”

“It wasn’t very long ago that _you_ were a ‘young one,’” Lumi said with a chuckle.

Illu smiled. “And it won’t be long before you join me in oh-so-great adulthood.”

“Yuck,” Lumi spat. “Who wants to be so tall they bonk their heads on the door frames? Or so long their rear smacks everything behind them?”

“The wings make up for it, in my opinion.” As if to prove it, Illu stood up and launched herself into the air to perform small tricks. Being young, her Glimmer wings were still small and less-developed. It wouldn’t be until she was a Gleam like Lumi’s teacher that her wings would be beautiful and huge. But that would be a while from now.

Lumi clapped. “Bravo, Illu! You should join the circus!”

Illu landed again, panting. “I think I should. I’m getting better at the barrel rolls.”

A knock at their front door made them both pause. It was rare they received uninvited visitors. And with Lumi’s Trial approaching…

Another knock.

“Coming!” Illu yelped, quickly fliting inside.

Lumi didn’t follow. He didn’t want to know who it was, or what would follow should it be…

“Lumi,” Illu called. She sounded excited. “Come here, please!”

Lumi slowly went inside, hoping it wasn’t time. That he wouldn’t be one of the first in his class to take the Trial of Trust…

Standing there in the hallway just outside the front door, towering far above even Illu’s height, was an Elder Gleam, the oldest of the adult ranks and an overseer of the Trial.

…great.

* * *

 

“Lumi, do you know why the Sea of Void exists above us?” Elder Gleam Erzu asked as he, Lumi, Illu, and one other Elder Gleam made their way up a set of stairs along a side wall of the cavern. At the top of the stairs would be the entrance to the Trial of Trust.

Lumi shrugged. “To be weird and spooky?”

Illu snickered. Erzu smiled. “I suppose, yes. But in all seriousness, do you know _why_?”

“I don’t,” Lumi admitted.

“The Void exists as the Sea, to seal away the sickness that plagues so many above us,” Erzu explained. “It sacrificed Its focus—the majority of Its very mind—so that we may live untouched.”

“A sickness?”

“Of the mind.” The group came to a halt at the top of the steps. A deep darkness yawned before them. A tunnel. “Long ago, our kingdom lived together with others. Two were ruled by monarchy, and two were—like us—ruled by Higher Beings. A Being of Light and a Being of Green. We lived under the protection of the Void, learned the ways of Soul. It taught us that though other Higher Beings exist, we can always trust in It.

“But then, the balance was shifted. The Green Being was displaced by Root, and another Light invaded the Old Light’s domain, claiming it as his own. Before any other could displace our beloved Void, It created a seal to close off our kingdoms. It became the Void Sea.”

“But what was the sickness?” Lumi asked. “What plague was so bad that we still have to be sealed away?”

The Elder Gleams bowed their heads. Then, Erzu muttered, “The Wrath of the Old Light. Her madness infected her old followers who were turned by the New Light. This infection even spread to the Green Being’s worshippers. The Void had no choice but to close our borders by force.”

The second Elder Gleam stepped forward, ushering Lumi to do the same. “Long ago, we trusted the Void to guide us. It kept us safe and still does. And so we must let It trust us to keep going. To progress.”

He gestured to the tunnel in front of them. “This is how we prove we are worthy of the freedom the Void has given us. This Trial is not only a test of our faith in the Void—but also in ourselves.”

He nodded to Illu. She kneeled next to Lumi, one hand placed lovingly on his shoulder. “Lumi, our people’s natural mastery over Soul allows us to glow, even in the darkest of places. Even in the presence of the Void. This tunnel leads up into the Sea itself, and there is no light that can pierce the darkness within—save our own. There are multiple paths inside, most of which are dead ends. All you have to do is trust in the Void to guide your path to safety—and trust in yourself to stay lit while inside. Trust in your abilities, for complete trust in others, even the Void, can only get you so far.”

“Well said,” Erzu muttered proudly. Facing Lumi, he said, “Everyone’s Trial is different, my child, but the end is mostly the same. You will know you’ve completed your Trial when you exit over there.”

He pointed across the way to a single, large stalactite hanging impossibly from the center of the Sea of Void. Carved into the stalactite was a hole—the exit of the Trial—with two lit pillars in front of it. At the bottom of the stalactite hung three great ever-glowing orbs, which pulsed with light so strong they lit up the center of their great city with ease.

Lumi turned back to the entrance. The darkness before him was deep, threatening to choke him. He shuddered.

Illu, still crouching beside him, came closer for a hug. “I know it’s scary. I was frightened, too. Everyone was before you. You will do great, Lumi. I promise.”

“It is time,” Erzu announced.

Lumi stepped forward on shaky legs. His light flickered on his rear.

“You will be fine,” Illu whispered. “Believe in yourself.”

“And trust in the Void,” Erzu offered.

Lumi’s feet kept moving on, and before he knew it, the darkness was about to swallow the light of the entrance. He turned to look back only once, and all he saw was a small glimmer. And then, the only light was his own.

* * *

Time was immaterial in this tunnel of darkness. Lumi’s mind buzzed with worst case scenarios. Anxiety clawed away at his chest and mind, and his light kept flickering from his fear.

The darkness only yielded a few feet at a time in front of him, opening the path and sometimes off-shoots as Lumi walked on. It moved with him, like it _sensed_ him and his weak light.

Not even Lumi’s footsteps echoed.

Yet he carried onward, afraid to go back and fail the Trial more than he was afraid of going forward.

Suddenly, the darkness shifted, and not in the usual _guiding_ way. Tendrils began to slither out, reaching for him.

Lumi yelped and jumped backward. The tendrils wrapped around him tightly before he could escape, then lifted him up off the ground. Lumi’s light flashed wildly, but the tendrils did not flinch away like normal shadows would.

**_You glow from an inner light_** , a voice hissed. It was genderless and creepy. It caused a cold shiver to run down Lumi’s shell. **_You are one of my disciples…_**

Lumi froze. Was this…the Void? Was this part of the Trial?

**_There is little time, My focus wanes. Young one, I have enough power to send you to the surface. Find my children. Return them to me so that I may be whole once more._ **

The tendrils wrapped tighter, darkening Lumi’s light. He gasped, feeling like he might faint in fear. This was way too scary. It couldn’t be the real Trial, could it? He wanted to voice his concerns, but the Void smothered it.

The last thing Lumi heard before the darkness took over his mind was:

**_Bring me my last children, make Me whole. The Seal shall break soon…_ **


	2. The Mantis and the Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lumi wakes up far away from home, and near a not-so-friendly face.

Lumi slowly regained consciousness after what felt like minutes. Something tugged at his antennae—a breeze.

_No,_ he thought slowly. _It’s stronger than a breeze. It’s…wind?_

Wind was a rare thing in his kingdom. There was an area far beneath Duskshire that was constantly blasted with icy cold wind so strong it could cut through even the toughest of shells. Lumi had never been there personally, but many bugs not native to the city of Duskshire, and some wandering Gleams, had. And they loved to complain about how that section of the kingdom was always a pain in the rear.

But this wind wasn’t that of the Biting Caverns. It was warm and strong, but not overpowering. Nothing like the blasts described by other bugs.

Lumi dared to crack open an eye. There were no icy floors beneath him, no Arctic Hoppers circling him threateningly. Just dust and weird rock formations.

He slowly picked himself off the ground. He wiped dust off of his shell, gazing around. This clearly wasn’t Duskshire; Lumi knew every inch of it and no part could whip up wind like this.

Strange rocks dotted the landscape, larger than he was tall and glowing with strange runes. If he approached one, the runes brightened. It reminded Lumi of the glow orbs dotting the roads and buildings in Duskshire. Continuing to explore, he noticed some normal stones that looked like either idols or grave markers. He hoped it was the former.

Pebbles shifted nearby. Lumi ducked behind a larger rock that might have once been an idol. Something was approaching. Something at least the size of Illu, Lumi guessed. He dared a peek as soon as the footfalls seemed to be retreating.

It definitely was a bug. A mantis—at least they looked kinda like the pictures in one of Lumi’s history books. Mantises didn’t live in Lumi’s kingdom. They had chosen to remain in the Kingdom Above, though the books hadn’t specified the reason. Now that Lumi knew the Void had protected Its disciples and all bugs who took Its offer of sanctuary, he didn’t really know why any of the bugs above had chosen to stay in their sick lands.

Lumi thought it odd that this mantis was slightly different than the ones in books. Those were mostly blue with white heads and pale front claw arms, and their wings generally weren’t noticeable. This mantis had a lot of green, their pale claws were much larger and longer, their wings seemed to flutter and buzz constantly, their rear was long and sharp—almost like a stinger—and their head ended in two long horns instead of antennae. All in all, they looked almost…more feral. Meaner.

Lumi gulped. If he was near a mantis, that meant he might be…in the Kingdom Above!

The mantis continued walking away, oblivious to Lumi’s presence. They seemed to be looking for something. Perhaps a certain glowing stone?

Lumi followed at a safe distance, trying to dim his light so he wouldn’t draw attention. He wished he could actually turn it off, but that was impossible.

The mantis stopped at the edge of a cliff, next to a giant statue of a moth.

_A moth?_ Lumi dared to step closer as the mantis sat down and bowed their head towards the statue. _Why would a mantis bow before a moth statue? Were they lovers? Rivals?_

After a few moments, Lumi steeled himself and stepped closer still. He took a deep breath and finally coughed to get their attention.

The mantis whirled faster than Lumi could blink. Within a moment, Lumi was on the ground, a claw inches from his face.

The mantis snarled, “Do you have a clear mind? Are you sentient?”

Female. The mantis sounded female. Lumi nodded nervously. “Y-yes! I’m sentient!”

The claw backed off. The mantis didn’t retreat, but she didn’t exactly let her guard down. “Who are you, little bug, to sneak up on a Mantis Tribe warrior like a fool?”

“I’m Lumi,” he managed to say. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to scare you or anything.”

“As if such a tiny larva could frighten me,” the mantis scoffed. “How did you get up here? The road is treacherous for even a seasoned bug.”

Lumi shifted to a standing position. “I…I’m not sure. I was taking my Trial and the Void…the Void transported me here. I don’t even know where ‘here’ is!”

“I don’t know about this _Void_ , but Trial…I didn’t take you for a Colosseum fighter. Which Trial were you taking? Warrior? Certainly not Fool.”

“Um…Trust.”

The mantis blinked. “Clearly we are barreling toward a grave misunderstanding. Regardless, I don’t want nor need your company little…blue butt.”

“My name is Lumi. And, well…I still don’t know where I am. Can you at least help me?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

Lumi gave his best pout. “But I’m a helpless _child_! Aren’t adults supposed to help children in need? Make sure they don’t get hurt?” He rushed forward.

The mantis exhaled sharply. “Get away from me, cretin!”

“Please? I’m lost!”

“Go away.”

“To where?”

The mantis opened her mouth to speak, then shut it again. After a few moments, she sighed in defeat. “I cannot believe this. I’ve been reduced to a babysitter…” She glared at Lumi. “I’ll escort you to that town down there.”

She pointed a claw past the cliff. Glancing down, Lumi could see little dots far below them. Lights.

“That’s Dirtmouth,” the mantis supplied. “It’s not much, but they’ll help you way better than I ever could.”

She whirled on one foot and quickly moved away from the cliff. Lumi was startled by her sudden movement, but soon ran after her.

“Wait,” he called. “I didn’t even get your name!”

“It’s Tomoe.”

“Why don’t we just fly down?”

“That’s a very long way,” Tomoe said sharply. “And my wings aren’t strong enough to fly that hard.”

“Okay. Then how do we get down to Dirtmouth?”

“We walk the long way.” She grabbed him and hopped down a shaft. Before Lumi could recover, she continued on. “Thankfully it’s not as dangerous as it used to be.”

“Why’s that?”

“It’s…complicated.”

She sliced through a pinkish crystal blocking the path. Lumi avoided the shattered pieces. He glanced around at the area, which seemed to be built like a mine.

_What an interesting place_ , he thought. _I’ve never seen gems like these! I wonder where the miners are? Wouldn't a lot of bugs try to get their hands on all these crystals and gems?_

                                                

He decided to change the subject. “So…why were you bowing to that one statue? Is it a grave?”

Tomoe shook her head. “It was an old idol for the Radiance.”

“Who’s that?”

“She was a Higher Being. She promised power and equality to any who followed Her…”

“Were you one of Her followers?” Lumi asked.

“Yes.”

“I thought Mantises didn’t follow Higher Beings.”

Tomoe glanced back with narrowed eyes but didn’t stop walking. “How would someone not native know about Mantises?”

“I…I read about it in a history book. It said Mantises and Bees didn’t worship Higher Beings. They were monarchal societies.”

Tomoe spat, “ _Monarchy_! As if we would allow ourselves to be ruled by a weak heir! The Mantis Tribe’s rulers are the strongest of our members!”

Lumi shivered. “I’m sorry…I didn’t know.”

“You can’t learn everything about another civilization from _books_.”

“Um…so, do they actually worship Higher Beings, then?”

“Well,” Tomoe drawled. “That’s also complicated.”

“We’ve got a long walk,” Lumi prompted.

“There was…a conflict of interest. Some of us decided it would be better to worship the Radiance. Some of us didn’t.”

Tomoe grabbed him and flew a short distance over a bunch of hazardous crystals and…what looked like corpses.

“Don’t worry,” Tomoe whispered when they landed. “Those bugs back there are long gone. Them being dead is the reason the road isn’t quite as dangerous as it used to be.”

“What happened here? A battle?”

“An infection. It poisoned everyone, living and dead. Made them…wild.”

_Infection…_ Lumi gasped. “The Wrath of the Old Light!”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “The Radiance was angry. She was displaced, nearly forgotten. She had every right to be furious with Her old followers.”

“I was taught She even affected other Higher Beings’ followers.”

“I don’t know much about that,” Tomoe admitted. “I just know that the Radiance was the reason behind the Infection that plagued all of Hallownest.”

“Then why do you worship her?”

Tomoe spun around and glared at Lumi. “Because she was strong! She promised power to my tribe and gave it! The Radiance may have been insane in the later days, but at least She was willing to defend Her people!” She looked away. “At least She cared about Her followers.”

Lumi backed up a pace. “What…What happened to Her?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if the Infection is gone…She must have either gotten Her way or…”

Tomoe halted. She remained silent for a few minutes, her head bowed.

“Tomoe?”

The mantis inhaled slowly, then let it out. “I don’t know. Just a bit ago Her influenced waned and then…vanished. I was on my way to Her Idol at the top of Crystal Peak when the Infection just suddenly…left. Bugs dropped dead. Non-sentient creatures fled. I was…alone.”

Lumi put a hand on her leg in sympathy.

She shook her head. “Enough of me talking. Why don’t you tell me your deal? If you’re not from around here, where are you from?”

“Well…” Lumi explained his situation, how he came from the city of Duskshire from the Kingdom Below, talked about the Void and the weird request he’d gotten from It.

“Do you know what It meant when It said, ‘My children’?” Lumi asked.

“No idea. I don’t know much about Higher Beings other than the Radiance and the Pale King. I didn’t even know the Void was a thing that _existed_.”

Lumi supposed no bug even knowing of the Void was a good thing. It meant his kingdom was still safe.

He was about to ask who or what the Pale King was, but Tomoe suddenly stopped. Lumi ran into her outstretched claw with an audible _oof_.

“Ssh,” she hissed. “Do you hear that?”

Lumi strained to listen. Within a few moments, he heard the distinct sound of… _humming_?

Tomoe took a defensive stance. “Come out,” she shouted at the doorway that stood a few feet in front of them. “Surrender yourself or face my claws!”

The humming stopped. Lumi heard footsteps approaching, albeit hesitantly. A bug slid out of the shadows nervously. He gulped. It was a pillbug with a miner’s helmet and pickaxe—the same as the numerous corpses scattered throughout the mine behind them.

The pillbug gave a squeak at the sight of Tomoe’s bladed arms and dropped their pickaxe in fear.

“Is your mind your own?” Tomoe demanded. “Are you sentient?”

The bug nearly rolled into a ball, but managed to cry, “Y-yes! M-my name is M-Myla!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never killed Myla in any of my playthroughs so technically she's always alive to me. Therefore, she lives on in this story!


	3. Into the Crossroads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lumi and Tomoe get a new companion, and then meet some very strange-looking bugs.

The tension in the air was thicker than Illu’s homemade soup. The three bugs stood extremely still for what seemed like hours; Lumi crouched behind Tomoe, Tomoe with her blades pointed directly at Myla the pill bug, and Myla completely terrified and in a half-curled ball.

Eventually, Lumi patted Tomoe’s leg. The mantis snapped out of her aggressive stance and lowered her blades.

Myla didn’t uncurl.

Lumi stepped forward slowly. “Hi,” he greeted. “I’m Lumi. This is my…friend…Tomoe. We didn’t mean to scare you.”

He held his hand out. Myla looked at it dubiously, but eventually shook it. “N-Nice to m-meet you.”

Tomoe huffed, annoyed. “Let’s move on.”

“Wait, we can’t leave her,” Lumi protested.

“Of course we can, she’s been doing fine on her own.”

Tomoe stalked past the two smaller bugs without waiting for Lumi to argue. “Come on, bluebutt. You want to get to Dirtmouth or not?”

“Oh, y-you’re going to D-Dirtmouth?” Myla stuttered. “M-May I join you?”

“No—”

“Sure,” Lumi said happily. “The more the merrier!”

Tomoe groaned loudly. Myla skittered along to catch up to her, and Lumi followed close behind.

“What were you doing all alone in here?” Lumi asked. Myla seemed much more willing to have a conversation.

“I d-don’t really kn-know,” she confessed. “I w-was dig-gging and broke…broke through to the m-main mine. I k-kinda f-fell…”

“Are you okay?”

“O-Oh, I’m f-fine! My sh-shell is pretty stro-strong.”

They all moved into a new area, from where Myla had come. She pointed with her pickaxe vaguely towards the ceiling. “I f-fell from up th-there.”

“Your stutter is annoying,” Tomoe growled.

“Your anger is annoying,” Lumi muttered. Then, to Myla he said, “I’m sorry about her. I don’t mind your stutter at all!”

Myla smiled. “N-No, it’s f-fine. I g-get that a l-l-lot.”

“That doesn’t make it good to say.”

Myla only shrugged in response.

“So,” Lumi started, “why do you want to go to Dirtmouth?”

“T-To rest. I-I’ve been w-w-working for a l-long time. M-Might as well re-rent a room.”

“That’s fair.”

The surroundings began to change. Instead of a mine, the trio were walking into natural caverns. The lights of the mine suddenly left, but it didn’t bother any of them; Myla had her headlamp, and Lumi had his—

“Bluebutt,” Tomoe called. “Get back a bit so she can move up front. We need her light ahead of us.”

“Why can’t I use my light up front?” Lumi questioned.

“Because your light is on your _butt_ ,” Tomoe growled. “Your light would be blinding if it were in front of me because it’s not facing the _front_!”

Lumi had never thought of that before. Then again, he’d always naturally looked away from anyone’s butts, and the older Glow Worms had always walked _behind_ the youngsters… Lumi had a feeling there were a lot of things he took for granted about his kind’s natural lights and the mannerisms surrounding them.

He let Myla pass so she could take the lead through the dark tunnel. Tomoe stayed in front of him, though he thought she probably could have seen just fine if their positions were reversed. If Gleams could see with the youngsters in front of them, so could the Mantis.

“Careful up here,” Myla announced quietly. “There are stalactites above us that can fall if you do something loud.”

To prove her point, one actually did begin to fall. Lumi yelped and backed up. Tomoe grunted and swung one of her arms upwards, slicing the stalactite in one fluid motion. Lumi stared in awe at the Mantis.

Soon, the darkness subsided and a soft blue light lit up their tunnel. Myla turned her light off.

Lumi gazed at the new surroundings. There was a dead sort of air to the place, with a few corpses of small flying bugs littered the ground—Vengeflies, Lumi noted. They were similar to those that sometimes hovered into Duskshire, though these seemed a bit bigger.

Then Lumi noticed a very large, almost bloated, one on the ground. It was also dead. Lumi wondered if Vengeflies up here had more of a queen system as opposed to the kings that fluttered below; perhaps this one was a dead queen?

Myla followed his gaze and shuddered. “Wh-what is that? It’s s-so huge!”

“That’s not normal?” Lumi questioned in surprise.

“It was for a little while,” Tomoe said off-handedly. “The infection really did a number on the Crossroads.”

“Th-that’s where w-we are now,” Myla offered.

“Don’t touch it,” the Mantis warned. “I don’t know if it’ll still explode now that the infection is gone, so don’t test it.”

_Explode?_ Lumi shuffled a little further away from the corpse. Just in case.

“So, which way now?” he asked.

“Down,” Myla said.

“Up,” Tomoe countered.

“Th-The Stag St-station is down there,” Myla tried to say in confidence.

“And Dirtmouth is literally a short walk up,” Tomoe growled. “I don’t wish to cram on top of a Stag and attempt to not scrape my head against the ceiling every time the Stag gallops.”

She then stepped over a dead Vengefly and said, “You can go down if you want, Miner. But Bluebutt—“ She stopped and faced Lumi. “—if you still want me to guide you, then come on.”

Lumi exchanged a glance with Myla and sighed. Then, holding her hand, the two smaller bugs followed Tomoe up through a fancy-looking hole. To the Mantis’s credit, she did help them up when they struggled.

They walked in silence for a bit again, with Myla pointing out another mine entrance that she had used earlier. Tomoe thankfully had no sarcastic remark to add and just kept walking ahead.

And then, they entered a new area. It was a large cavern with one clear building in the center between their entrance and the exit on the other side. As they approached, Lumi recognized the style of the building; it looked like one of the Worship Temples in Duskshire!

The building itself was a large, bug-shaped one, with two large windows for eyes and a doorway for a mouth. Lumi surmised the head was the entrance hall and the body made up the main whole of the temple. He wondered what exactly was worshipped there if the Void wasn’t known up here…

Tomoe halted in a flash, extending her claw to stop the others. Lumi reacted in time. Myla didn’t. She got knocked backwards and flailed on her back, her rounded shell keeping her from doing much except ask for help. Lumi helped her up, though it took a few moments.

Tomoe hissed, “Quiet, you two. There’s something inside. Probably waiting to ambush us the moment we pass the door.”

“You’re very paranoid,” Lumi assessed. “Why would they ambush us?”

“Because any sensible bug would pick off the weak,” she snapped. “Now hush.”

“We hear you,” came a voice from inside the temple. “And we won’t harm you. Come inside.”

Lumi tapped Tomoe’s leg. “See? They won’t hurt us.”

“We sh-should say hello,” Myla added.

“Do you two know nothing about stranger danger?” Tomoe growled softly. “I cannot believe you. Fine, we go in. But if this is a trap…”

“Then you can do your slashy thing,” Lumi said with a smile. “I bet you’re really good at it!”

“Flattery gets you nowhere…”

Slowly, they walked into the temple. Tomoe was at the front, with Myla and Lumi hiding behind her legs. Myla turned on her light to illuminate the darkness inside, and Lumi’s rear brightened automatically.

When his eyes adjusted, Lumi could make out only three things: two bugs and one great structure. The structure was a great egg that seemed to block off whatever was inside the main building behind it.

The bugs were…strange, to say the least. One was half in shadow, crouched next to the egg. The other stood in front of the first, brandishing a needle in a defensive stance. The strange thing about them was their heads. The first had a head resembling the pictures of Mantis Lords in Lumi’s books, their horns jagged on the inside. The second—the needle-weilder—had a head like the first, but without the jagged edges. It kind of resembled...a rounder version of Tomoe’s head. The needle-weilder wore a magenta high-necked dress, the crouched figure only an old, tattered cape.

                                                         

Tomoe held her claws up. “You dare raise a weapon against me?”

The standing figure held up their needle, pointing it at Tomoe accusingly. “You’re the one pointing weapons at us! What business does a Mantis Petra—a _traitor Mantis_ —have here in the Black Egg Temple?”

Tomoe bristled. “Do _not_ call me a traitor! I didn’t betray anyone!”

“You say that, yet look at your…form.”

Tomoe was about to burst forward in anger, but Lumi held her back. He stepped forward, blocking the Mantis.

“I’m sorry for my friend,” he said. “She’s a bit grouchy.”

“Grouchy?” Tomoe echoed.

“I’m Lumi,” he continued. “These are my friends, Tomoe and Myla. We mean you no harm.”

The standing figure lowered their needle. “Hornet,” they—she, Lumi realized—said gruffly. “And this is my…my sibling.”

Her sibling was still crouched behind her. No, they were sitting, leaning back against the egg thing. Their head tilted slightly.

“State your business,” Hornet declared.

“We’re just passing through,” Lumi said. “We’re on our way to Dirtmouth.”

The figure behind Hornet rose, albeit shakily. Hornet tried to steady them—or maybe stop them?—but her sibling staggered past her. They grabbed a large nail—longer than Hornet was tall—and used it as a walking stick.

Oh…

Now the figure was getting closer, and Lumi could see that they were _huge_. Taller than even Tomoe! Even bent over they were large enough to cause Lumi to back up in fear.

The closer they got, the more Lumi could take in. Their face was cracked at the top, like broken glass. The crack was large, reaching both their eyes. Their tattered cape was dark and old, almost moldy-looking. And their nail—though also old-looking—shone with carvings so beautiful it gave Lumi vertigo.

The figure reached Lumi, dropping to their knees. They laid their sword down slowly, then reached forward. Lumi closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.

He didn’t expect a hand to softly pat him on the head.

Lumi cracked open an eye and nearly yelped in terror. Hornet’s sibling was inches away from his face. He got a really good view of their eyes—or lack thereof. They were more like holes than eyes, holes that were filled with inky black pools. Kind of like they were filled with…

“Void,” Lumi muttered.

Both Hornet and her sibling flinched in surprise. Then, the sibling tilted their head to gaze at something behind Lumi. Before he could see what, their hand slid past his head and hovered above his rear, which was still glowing brightly. The hand bubbled, then began to liquefy into something that resembled the tendrils that had held Lumi before. He gasped, and the sibling retracted their tendril, which quickly reverted into a hand.

Lumi grinned. “You’re one of the Void’s children!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why this chapter gave me trouble. Maybe it was just that they were...walking. It'll get easier for me to do this once the cast grows and I get to explore non-verbal conversations, I hope!


End file.
